Common Core Language Standard 6

Here it is: the last ELA standard. It's taken 2-1/2 months for me to talk myself through them. I've learned a lot, and I hope you have too. It's exciting to think that I can simply refer back to my blog whenever I want resources for a certain standard.

Well, without any further ado, here's College and Career Readiness Standard for Language 6 (CCRA.L.6): "Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking and listening..."

Vocabulary, how do I teach thee? Let me count the ways:

1. Vocabulary Books - My students use a vocabulary series to learn 12 to 15 "new" words each week. Obviously, they already know a few words before we even begin, but I hope that they learn additional denotations and connotations by the time we wrap it up each week.
2. Greek/Latin Roots - I try to work on one Greek or Latin root word each week. Okay, I haven't been as consistent as I'd like, but this is the goal. For this, we probably cover 5 to 10 words.
3. Words in Reading - Of course, like all classes, we work on vocabulary related to stories we're reading. I'd estimate that students learn or fine-tune 10 or more words each week in this way.
4. Content Words - Content words are huge in my class. Students are accountable for math, science, health, social studies, and English terms. Whether we're studying polygons, erosion, diseases, elections, or parts of speech, there are always new terms to learn. How many? I'd guess 20 to 30 per week.
5. Teacher Talk - I believe in using big words with my students. When I talk, I use words that I'm pretty sure are new to them and define them as I speak. It goes something like this: "Of course, when you are in a higher math class, you will learn the Pythagorean theorem. You're probably thinking: What's that? Well, it's a theorem (or mathematical rule) thought up by the ancient mathematician Pythagorus. He found that if you take these the two sides that are adjacent, or next to, the right angle, square each one, then add them together, the sum will equal the square of the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse is the side opposite the right angle." I try to repeat this idea (and the correlating vocabulary) whenever the opportunity presents itself. I don't have any way of knowing how much this practice increases my students' vocabulary, but I hope it's 10 to 20 words per week. 
6. Independent Reading - Students acquire a great number of new words through independent reading. That's a big push for us. Every Monday morning we assess each student's progress (using Accelerated Reader reports), hold brief reading conferences, and have 30 minutes of sustained silent reading. Research shows that students in middle grades are exposed to between 8,000 and almost 5,000,000 words per year based on the amount of reading they do. Let's just make a wild guess and say that the amount of new vocabulary gained due to our AR push is 20 words per week.

Some quick estimation tells us that my students are introduced to new 70 to 100 words each week, or 2500 to 3600 words per school year. According to Oxford Dictionaries, there are 171,476 words in the English language. Ugh! Are 2500 words per year enough? How many of those do they actually remember when the school year is over? Even though I think I'm doing a decent job with vocabulary in my classroom, I think I could do more.

What steps will I take to improve my vocabulary program this year?

• I will get on board with Greek and Latin word parts. Traditional pencil and paper activities just aren't working for me, though. My kids need hands-on, minds-on practice constructing word meaning using Greek and Latin roots. And here's how I'm going to do it: word strips. This is brand new! I just came up with it last night. The first in the series ("ped") is now available for free at my Teachers pay Teachers store.

• I will help students "own" more words by encouraging them to use newly acquired vocabulary. Sheets like this will help them keep track of five new words per week. Friends, relatives, and teachers will initial the octagons to indicate a time when the student has used the word in speaking or writing.

• I will start each day with the Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster, which will bring an additional 180 words into my classroom. (Yesterday's word was suffice and today's is cocoon. I know my students will like this!)

• We will start using this website, WOW Words, to explore our vocabulary words. Their format is so cool!

Now I just have to do it! Let's make a pact to integrate more vocabulary this school year!

Common Core Language Standard 5

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard for Language 5 (CCRA.L.5) states: "Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings." At the third grade level, students explore the difference between literal and nonliteral meanings, connections between words and their use, and "shades of meaning among related words." Instruction then shifts. Expectations for fourth and fifth graders include interpreting figurative language; explaining common idioms, adages, and proverbs; and using word relationships to more fully understand word meanings.

Figurative Language

YouTube gives us some great opportunities for introducing figurative language. Check out this figurative language rap (3:00).  Or, if you want to give your students a high level introduction, try this video on Figurative Language (3:42). You'll also find many student-created videos featuring popular music, but watch out for content that may not be appropriate for your grade level (as well as spelling errors).

To reinforce these literary devices, try a few activities from Teachers pay Teachers. Reflective Teacher offers  Plans and Engaging Activities for Teaching Simile and Interactive PowerPoint with Teaching Notes to Teach Simile. Featured in the TpT Common Core eBook,  Figurative Language Stories for Close Reading is a freebie from Lovin Lit.

Seeing figurative language in literature really drives it home. Paddle-to-the-Sea, The Cat Who Went to Heaven, and Call It Courage are filled with similes, metaphors, personification, and onomatopoeia. ReadWriteThink gives a more complete list in Suggested Books with Figurative Language, and Teaching with Kids' Books suggests books to use to teach idioms.

For the grand finale, try one or more of these writing projects with your students:

• Start simple. Give each student a picture (can be clip art, taken from magazines, etc.) and ask him/her to write a simile or metaphor about the picture. Mount picture and figurative language; display.
• Use Spice Up Your Poetry with Figurative Language by Kechia Williams for Scholastic.
• Infuse descriptions with personification. "Personification of a Tree" is a fun fall writing project. Each student chooses a specific type and size of tree then describes it using human traits. (Add drawings with sponged leaves, if desired.)
• Move on to proverbs and adages with Paragraphs and Pigs: Teaching Paragraph Writing with Humor from Reflective Thinker.
• And, my personal favorite, explore proverbs as the basis for writing fables.

Word Relationships and Nuances

Analogies provide great opportunities to explore word relationships with your students. You can find plenty of analogy worksheets at englishforeveryone.org. Better yet, have kids write their own!

If you're up for a real challenge, sign up for WordMasters. This vocabulary contest is analogy-based. Three times each year, you will receive a list of 25 words. After in-depth exploration of the denotation and connotation of these words, students take an analogy-based test. The ten highest scores are totaled and sent to WordMasters. I've been involved in this contest for nearly three decades and can honestly attest to its rigor.

That's enough for today on words and their nuances. Have a good great wonderful fabulous fantastic spectacular day!

Common Core Tips & Freebies

This just out: teacher/authors at Teachers pay Teachers have collaborated to offer a series of free eBooks featuring tips and freebies related to the Common Core State Standards. Let's take a look at the two eBooks for Grades 3-5.

The ELA book contains clickable pages from 56 sellers. Each offers a tip and a freebie. My favorite find was a main idea graphic organizer from Jessi's Archive.

You will find pages from 55 sellers in the Common Core Math eBook for Grades 3-5.

I haven't had a chance to gather any goodies from this yet, but you can be sure that I'll be hunkered down at my computer later on today. . . 

Enjoy the tips and freebies!

:- ) Brenda

Common Core Language Standard 4

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard for Language 4 (CCRA.L.4) states: "Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate."

The first strand of this standard for Grades 3-5 (L.3.4a, L.4.4a, and L.5.4a) deals with finding word meaning from context. To tackle this concept, kids need to look at other words in the text for clues. This could be in the form of synonyms or antonyms, definitions or explanations, descriptions or examples. Students' past experiences and knowledge of the subject matter also comes into play. Here are some resources, listed from easy to difficult:

• Rags to Riches from Quia is a fun little game students can play online to practice substituting possible meanings into a sentence.
• Englishlinx.com offers a nice collection of free worksheets on context clues. 
• Learning Words from Context Clues provides multiple strategies (examples, definitions, descriptive words, and opposites), as well as opportunities for practice. 
• This PowerPoint presentation can provide good discussion of context clues in your classroom as well.

For the second part of the standard (L.3.4b, L.3.4c, L.4.4b, and L.5.4b), students need to find word meaning using prefixes, suffixes, and roots. In third grade, students work with known affixes and roots to find word meaning. Fourth and fifth graders begin learning and using Greek and Latin word parts.

When the Common Core State Standards were first unveiled, finding materials on Greek and Latin word parts was difficult. Now, however, they are more plentiful. I especially like the simplicity of the free one-page reference guides on Root Words, Roots and Affixes, a webpage offered by Reading Rockets.

How should these be taught? In any and all ways! My colleagues and I decided to add one Greek or Latin word family to our vocabulary and spelling list each week. Instruction varied. Sometimes we used worksheets; other times we did projects. One of my favorite activities was to copy a shape that represented the root, pair the students, assign one related word, and have them make mini posters by breaking the words into its parts and defining. For example, when we studied -ped and -pod, my students wrote on foot shapes (both left and right). When the posters were finished, we hung them to look like footprints walking across the wall.

A few years ago I was messing around on Prezi and made this simple presentation on therm.

To me, Prezi provides a powerful format for presenting Greek and Latin word families. Since it's a free web-based program, I thought it would be great to use in my classroom. There were, however, some drawbacks, namely setting up accounts and the sheer amount of time necessary to teach students how to use Prezi and help with their presentations. Jeff Herb has also discussed this issue in Prezi - Advantages and Disadvantages. Instead, my students have created Greek and Latin word webs on traditional poster board. Less wow, but the same pow.

Although online games do not necessarily correlate with the roots we are studying, they can be fun. (And didn't I just say that we should teach these word parts any way we can?) Here are a few to try:

• Rooting Out Words by FunBrain
• It's Greek to Me from Scholastic
• Rags to Riches from Quia (different version from the one listed above)
• Latin/Greek Roots Matching from Study Stack

In the last part of the standard (L.3.4d, L.4.4c, and L.5.4c), students use reference materials to find definitions. Third graders utilize glossaries or beginning dictionaries to find word meaning; fourth and fifth grade students begin to "consult reference materials..., both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify" word meaning.

Dictionary skills take practice! The first challenge is simply navigating the dictionary. In searching for ways to help kids with this, I found 8 Fun Dictionary Skills from Minds in Bloom by Rachel Lynette. The classroom ideas, task cards, and worksheets will all be great for introducing my students to dictionary use this year. I'm planning on using it all!

The second challenge is finding the exact meaning. Have you ever looked up a word and found 27 different definitions? That's overwhelming! To practice this skill, my students use context clues to choose the exact meaning from a limited number of choices. Here's an example from the novel unit I'm currently creating based on The Black Stallion.

Through direct instruction, we can provide our students with strategies for finding meanings of words in context, words used figuratively, and words in dictionaries. What other factors come into play? The University of Oregon has synthesized some eye-opening research on vocabulary. Did you know, for example, that due to differences in students' independent reading habits, middle grade students can be exposed to a range of 8,000 to 4,733,000 words per year? Obviously, students who read a lot on their own will acquire a much, much, much larger vocabulary. In addition to teaching vocabulary, it is essential that we get our students reading as much as possible! 

Words, they're essential!

Common Core Language Standard 3

Career and College Readiness Anchor Standard for Language 3 (CCRA.L.3) states: "Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. In Grades 3 (L.3.3), 4 (L.4.3), and 5 (L.5.3) students must "use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening." Here are a few ideas for how you can address specific grade level expectations in your class.

Third Grade

According to L.3.3a third grade students should "choose words and phrases for effect" when speaking and writing.

It's time to start using the thesaurus! Students can use print, digital, teacher-made (like the one below), or student-made thesauruses. For a quick student-made thesaurus, simply list words that will be used for a writing project, assign one word to each group of students and have them generate a list of synonyms, and share.

from Halloween Writing: How to Carve a Pumpkin

Children are now ready to start thinking about whether a synonym is appropriate for a situation. For example, when using the pumpkin thesaurus above, would it be okay to say "chop a pumpkin" instead of "carve a pumpkin?" 

Activities that focus on synonyms used for specific situations will help your students gain a better understanding of this concept. Which word(s), for example, would work well in these situations?

• A doctor telling her patient to stop smoking (cease)
• A policeman ordering a suspect to stop running (halt)
• A boy telling his dog to stop because a car is coming (heal)
• A speaker telling an audience that his speech is about to stop (conclude)
• A volunteer telling citizens that they were able to stop a flood (block)
• A boss telling his employee that he will have to stop working there (terminate)
• An FBI agent telling the President that she was able to stop a bomb (deactivate)
• A parent telling his children that they will need to stop the vacation early (cut short)
• A sign telling you that production of a certain product will stop (discontinue)
• A newscaster telling the audience that experts had been able to stop a disease from spreading (prevent)

You can give students situations and have them come up with synonyms that would work or vice-versa. Have some fun with this! Students can work in groups, act it out, make posters, play charade-type games to get others to guess the appropriate word, etc.

L.3.3b says, "Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English." What does this mean? After doing a bit of research, I'm still not sure, but I'll take a stab at it. (If I'm wrong, someone can set me straight.) This part of the standard was meant to help students discriminate between the types of language we use in different contexts. In third grade, writing is more formal than speaking. "Walk slow!" might be okay for spoken language, but in written language we'd need to say, "Walk slowly!" Lots of kids say, "Me and my friends are going to the park," but writing this would never fly. In any case, third grade teachers need to discuss when to use more formal and less formal language with their students.

Fourth Grade

For L.4.3a students must "choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely." Using specific language is also addressed in W.4.2d and W.4.3d; it's alluded to in SL.4.6. Take a look at my July 16th post for resources I previously recommended.

Students in Grade 4 need to work on word choice whenever they write, but there's one form of writing that really focuses on word choice: diamante poetry. In order to complete these poems, students must apply knowledge of related terms, parts of speech, denotation, and most importantly, connotation. Here's a set of generic sheets for planning diamantes in your classroom.

 You can use diamante to write about any type of change: seasons, growing up, feelings, etc. Take, for example, this simple poem documenting the change from summer back to school:

Even more powerful, though, is the use of diamante with subject-matter vocabulary. Students can write about changes from one time period to the next; the rock cycle; life cycles of plants, insects, or animals; photosynthesis; erosion or mountain formation; etc. They can compare and contrast characters, settings, or events in literature. Or maybe they could document their growth in a certain subject, such as what it takes to move from novice to master in fourth grade math (or the differences between third and fourth grade math). Just think how this can reinforce concepts and vocabulary!

L.4.3b asks students to "choose punctuation for effect." I found a cool Punctuation Pyramid that explains each type of punctuation and how it's used. Fourth graders love adding hyphens, ellipses, and parentheses to their writing! 

The English Club offers explanations and ideas for this in How to Teach Formal and Informal Language. This piece applies to L.4.3c, which deals with differentiating "between contexts that call for formal English and situations where informal discourse is appropriate."

Fifth Grade

For L.5.3a, students are expected to "expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style." Check out Sentence Length: The Power of Placing Periods from Writer's Relief for insight about this. While this part of the standard can be practiced in isolation, it's much better when applied to students' writing.

Finally, L.5.3b asks students to "compare and contrast the varieties of English (e.g., dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or poems." You can reinforce this with most books and stories. Right now, for example, I'm working on a unit on The Black Stallion. Let's take a look at the speech of several characters:

• Captain Watson: "Well, m'boy, you're on your way home."
• Pat: "For the love of St. Patrick, he's just a boy!"
• Joe: "I'm Joe Russo of the Daily Telegram. I'd like to take a few pictures and get your story."
• Tony: "Si, that's-a right. I ver' busy make-a better the harness sore on my Nappy when I look-a up and see heem."
• Henry: "Never liked this business of retiring, anyway. Not too old---still have plenty of good years left in me. This life's okay for the Missus---she's got enough to do to keep her busy, but I need action."

Comparing and contrasting the speech patterns of each character uncover information about him and his background. (And later students can employ this strategy in their own writing!)

Third, fourth, and fifth grade students are now discovering the nuances (and power) of words. As Tom Stoppard wrote:

“Words... They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good any more... I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little or make a poem which children will speak for you when you're dead.” 

Miracle for Mendy

Today we're taking a break from the Common Core State Standards. Instead, I would like to promote a special fundraising bundle from Teachers pay Teachers called Miracle for Mendy.

This bundle was created to help Mendy Brockman and her family. Mendy is a young mother in her 30's with four small children, ages 6, 4, 3, and 19 months. A few weeks ago, Mendy and her husband were in a car accident. Mendy was left paralyzed from the waist down and partially paralyzed from the neck down. Her family faces tremendous financial difficulties. Her house will need to be remodeled to make it wheelchair accessible. They will need a vehicle that can transport a wheelchair. Plus they have tremendous medical bills to face. Please consider purchasing this bundle to help this family. ALL of the funds raised from this bundle will go to her family.

This bundle is loaded with well-known, high-quality products that will enhance your classroom. Check out this preview of the 43 products included in Miracle for Mendy. These materials normally sell for a combined total of $184.70, but you can get them for just $25.00.

This is your chance to get lots of great teaching materials while helping someone in need!

Common Core Language Standard 2 - Grade 5 Resources

What do fifth graders need to know for CCRA.L.2? Fortunately, it's focused around only three skill groups: using commas, punctuating titles, and spelling.

Commas
In Grade 5, three comma rules are emphasized: commas in a series (L.5.2a), commas that separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence (L.5.2b), and commas that set off yes, no, tag questions, and names used to directly address an individual (L.5.2c). In recent years, some fun, motivational resources have become available for these skills. Let's look at a few:

• A four-minute Comma Song from the Grammarheads focuses on how to use commas to separate items in a sentence.
• Monster Wrangler Mike has created a set of fun activities to reinforce comma placement called Let's Eat Grandma! How Command of the Comma Saves Lives.
• Author Lynn Truss has penned Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
• A Common Core Aligned Commas Review is available from The Fabulous Life of an Elementary Teacher.

Punctuating Titles
L.5.2d asks students to "use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works." This is relatively easy! Just remind your class to use quotation marks for small works and underlining or italics for large works.

• Punctuating Titles, a short video (2:09) by Cara Canfield, provides a clear, concise overview of the rules for using quotation marks, underlining, or italicizing.
• For a good worksheet, try mrshatzi.com.

Spelling
L.5.2e reminds us that fifth graders must "spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed." By the time kids are in fifth grade, they should be able to spell many words. When dealing with unknown words, they should know to a) ask a friend, b) ask an adult, c) use spell check, or d) use a dictionary. Although many teachers ease off of spelling tests by this age, I believe in pinpointing, practicing, and testing words students do not know. Setting up a system in which students document words they don't know how to spell, practice them, and complete some form of assessment provides a means for growth in this area. Teachers can generate and share multiple lists on SpellingCity.com.

P.S. If you're like me, writing has pushed parts of speech, punctuation, and capitalization to the side. A new program, Mechanics: Your Daily Tune-Up, offers direct instruction, practice, and assessment of one set of related skills per week. Ten minutes a day for 18 weeks provides powerful perception about parts of speech and how they impact punctuation and capitalization. Give it a try!